Author: Press Room

Content warning: This article mentions mental health and suicide.Ivy was 22 when a man with a cold sore went down on her (badly, if she may add), ghosted her the next day, and on top of that, gave her genital herpes. She says she struggled with her diagnosis at first because she held so much stigma towards herpes.Up to 80% of New Zealanders catch herpes at some point in their lives, according to the New Zealand Herpes Foundation, so why is there still a huge stigma? “I was absolutely devastated, I really believed my life was over.”What is herpes?Herpes simplex…

A Gisborne caterer that makes 600 school lunches daily says the replacement of local suppliers with a national supply chain will be “heavily felt” by the wider community.From next year, the Government’s school lunch programme will be led by Compass Group NZ, owned by a British multinational of the same name, as part of the consortium awarded the contractThere are currently 156 external suppliers ranging from multi-national providers, Compass Group and Libelle Group, who will remain part of the supply team, to Subway and Pita Pit, to smaller suppliers such as cafes, and small businesses set up to prepare school…

An Auckland teenager has described the dramatic moment he helped rescue residents from a burning apartment in Ōtāhuhu overnight.Firefighters were called to the blaze on Albert St just after midnight and rescued several people from the block of flats. All residents at the complex are safe. Video showed rescuers helping residents down from their apartments by ladder.”That’s what we train for, so it was all good,” a Fire and Emergency spokesperson said. (Source: 1News)Fire and Emergency assistant commander Dave Hatton said the blaze was “significant”. He confirmed the scene was a Kāinga Ora apartment block “with many units”.”We’ve had a…

Three former Wellington mayors have delivered mixed verdicts on the Government’s decision to appoint a Crown Observer to help the troubled city council.On Tuesday, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown wrote to Wellington City Council, with draft terms of reference for appointing a Crown Observer. Brown repeatedly cited official advice from the Department of Internal Affairs in making the move. The move followed months of wrangling over the council’s long-term plan. A planned sale of the council’s ownership stake in Wellington Airport, pushed by Mayor Tory Whanau, was scuttled at the last minute following a vote by councillors earlier this month.…

A 23-year-old man has been charged after a person was stabbed in South Auckland overnight.Emergency services were called to an address in Māngere at about 2.20am this morning, a police spokesperson said.A person was found with serious injuries at the scene.A 23-year-old man was charged with assault with intent to injure, and committing burglary with a weapon, the spokesperson added.He is set to appear in Manukau District Court.”The victim was transported to hospital, where they remain in a serious but stable condition,” police said.A St John spokesperson confirmed its crews attended the scene, and the patient was taken to Middlemore…

Surf Life Saving New Zealand is predicting a busy summer season, thanks to the increased chance of serious weather events and above-average temperatures.The long weekend sees the start of summer surf life saving patrols along Aotearoa’s coastlines.Surf Life Saving’s Chris Emmett said by summer’s peak there would be 96 patrolled locations nationwide, and they all relied on an amazing group of volunteers.They had been at work over the winter keeping up their knowledge and fitness, and they were keen to begin beach patrols again, he said.But the volunteers needed the public to support them by being aware of risks and…

Kate Winslet has revealed the “door” in the much-debated Titanic scene wasn’t in fact a door.The 49-year-old actress played Rose alongside Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack in James Cameron’s 1997 blockbuster film about the doomed Titanic liner.The film controversially ended with the young lovers stranded in the icy waters of the North Atlantic Ocean as the Titanic sinks to the murky depths.Winslet’s character survives by sitting on what appears to be a floating door, while Jack clings to its side before freezing to death to apparently avoid adding his weight to the wood and causing it to sink.Winslet was recently asked…

Six people have been arrested after a group of boy racers allegedly threw fireworks, bottles and rocks at police in the Wairarapa overnight.Wairarapa police, with assistance from Central District staff, disrupted a planned activity by “antisocial road users” last night.Officers were confronted by a “large and aggressive group” on Waingawa Rd near Masterton at around 1.15am, according to police.”The group threw bottles, rocks and fireworks at officers before police were able to disperse them,” said a police spokesperson.”The rear window of a police vehicle was smashed by the group.”Multiple infringement notices were issued and two cars were impounded, along with…

Fire and Emergency have handed the site of a large vegetation fire which burned through more than 1000 hectares of “environmentally significant” wetlands in north Waikato back to the Department of Conservation.Crews were alerted to the fire, estimated to have burnt through 1039 hectares over five days, on Monday afternoon.At its peak, eight helicopters and two fixed-wing aircraft attacked the fire from the air.Incident controller Mark Tinworth said the fire has now been fully contained and under control for three days.”There will continue to be some hot spots and our crews will remain on site to support DOC fire crews…

Police now say they believe a woman who died after being stabbed on an Auckland bus this week may have known the man charged with her murder.The woman died after she was stabbed on a bus in Onehunga on Wednesday.On Thursday, 37-year-old Kael Austin Leona of Onehunga was arrested after handing himself into police.He appeared in court on Friday charged with murder – as well as with threatening to kill another woman on the same day, among other charges.Police initially said it was believed the woman and her attacker were not known to each other – but in an update…